Bandh ticket cancel spree

AMIT BHELARI

Patna, Feb. 27: The Indian Railways witnessed large-scale cancellation of tickets from Bihar for February 28, the day the BJP has called a Chakka Jam, demanding a special financial package for the state.

Many passengers cancelled the tickets to avoid trouble.

Kankerbagh resident Mayank Kumar cancelled his ticket to Mumbai at Patna Junction on Thursday and said: “I had booked a ticket for February 28 to Mumbai but I came to know that some political party has called a railway blockade. I decided to cancel my tickets. I don’t want to take any chances during a bandh. There is always a threat to life, so it’s better to avoid the trouble.”

According to senior officers of East Central Railway (ECR), around 5,000 tickets have been cancelled in the past five days ever since the BJP declared the strike.

The chief reservation supervisor (CRS) of Patna Junction, Vijay Verma, said: “Whenever bandhs are called by any political party, passengers do cancel tickets. However, many passengers don’t cancel their tickets because of the fear of not getting confirmed tickets after cancelling one.”

The railways have issued a warning that it would take stern action against those found to be damaging its property during the agitation.

Danapur divisional railway manager (DRM) N.K. Gupta said: “Railways have sounded alert at all the railway stations under the ECR so that passengers do not face problems during the blockade. We would suggest them to go for symbolic blockade.”